Your next guitar?

[Hink]

Nice Hink frankensteinin' mate

Yes the new X-Range of EMG's (So now its X-81) are good, have more headroom and also love the 18v 'mod' much more also but hell so are S.Duncan's Blackouts, Even the lowly Duncan Designed Actives 101's on my Schecter are excellent sounding which i was not expecting for the money. The Mick Thompson models in particular are superb (yeah he plays down-tuned chunky metal with a boiler suit and mask on but it don't mean the tools won't translate but you know that already). Guess it is a great excuse to go find some guitars with them fitted (well with the EMG you can just drop one in on the fly in-store) and test the candidates out if possible

On the guitar front, not a guitar as such but i scored a Marshall JMP-1 for £200 today, pretty much perfect condition as it was used in someone's studio rack only, a friend bought the guy's rack for £1000 for some rack synth modules and did not have any use for the JMP-1. I am rather happy with that one

Keep us posted on that Kramer-Baritone-HinKaster if you do not mind. I love it/the concept is just screaming 'Yes that is will sound collusus' to me and i am looking forward to how it turns out my friend

All the best to all and take care

Dean

I will Dean but it wont be a baritone, if you remember I bought a squire tele and changed the neck with a baritone neck so this will just be a single pick up six string with attitude.

Nice score btw

[Dean Aka Nekro]

I'm glad I'm not a pedal junkie because:

a. I couldn't afford it. All the thousands of cash I've spent enforcing this habbit is a fraction of what I'd spend on pedals

b. I'd never really be able to try before I buy We've got GC and they only have the common variety stuff. I'd want all the expensive/esoteric goodies

c. I can't bug the neighbors with my howling, so I'd probably never get to use them

Well here is what i am thinking, weighing up the pros against your cons. It must be said i lost my mind ages ago, still here goes nothing...

a. If you held back on the software front them it would be alot less pricey game than you would think plus with some basic DIY skills mods, kits and building your own from scratch is fairly simple (well i am only reffering to dirt boxes here as i have never attempted anything else)

b. start with a few common bits like Boss, especially the SD-1, MXR/Dunlop and EH...etc. Its usually easy to find mods and do them ala Robert Keeley but without the very much over-inflated price tag put on the pedals he modded. There is so much information which is good on the whole and available regarding mods/kits/build your own boxes online for nothing hibidy my friend. With a keen eye on the second-hand market/ebay and the like, it is entirely possible to turn a £25 pedal into something much more expensive sounding for very little cash. The exotic/esoteric stuff will eventually come into play but for getting started its not needed at all, the more you try, tweak/mod the more your taste will naturally know what is to your taste exotic/esoteric wise and which builders are a good bet and which are not

c. The hardware ODs, Dists, fuzzs, boosters/treble boosters...etc. sound and behave extremely well in-front of virtual amps and i have never been able to get the same out of virtual pedals, the real deals seem to aid in bringing amp models alive, Well for me at least and YMMV. It means that you can wail without disturbing the neighbours As said see if you can pickup a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive stomp second-hand/used/ex-demo...etc. I see them for around £25 all the time and for the money i reckon they are really good. Stick it inbetween you guitar and your DI box/HiZ input then into your amp sims and see if it works for you After all it is only one little pedal, what harm could it do?

*ok so it may lead to complete pedal love and lust which will consume you and pedal collecting will start to become the only way to satisfy GAS. Each one will be special to you for its own reasons, the wife will chew your ear off and when you have more overdrive pedals than She does pairs of shoes and handbags...etc. then maybe you will curse the day you bought that tiny but precious Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive pedal and listened to that damned limey and his pedal promoting on that old KVR audio thread*

[Dean Aka Nekro]

I will Dean but it wont be a baritone, if you remember I bought a squire tele and changed the neck with a baritone neck so this will just be a single pick up six string with attitude.

Nice score btw

Off course in haste, i misread and thought you had taken the baritone neck of the tele Still regardless of neck scale-length i am just as intrested plus its a 25.5" like most fender models i presume. So along with it being a maple board also it will definately have plenty of snap and definately alot of attitude.

Thanks

[Hink]

I will Dean but it wont be a baritone, if you remember I bought a squire tele and changed the neck with a baritone neck so this will just be a single pick up six string with attitude.

Nice score btw

Off course in haste, i misread and thought you had taken the baritone neck of the tele Still regardless of neck scale-length i am just as intrested plus its a 25.5" like most fender models i presume. So along with it being a maple board also it will definately have plenty of snap and definately alot of attitude.

Thanks

It appears the Mick Thompson Blackout will be my choice and I'll omit the EMG PA2 (maybe I'll put the PA2 in my Jackson Kelly which is entirely passive just for an active option)). I like the idea of the MT being balanced, though this new apartment is very quiet as far as interference goes.

I just have to wait to order the pick up so I can line it up with a time I can be here...some time after the first

[blueman]

Tyler Variax

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Good stuff and i think the slightly different flavour of the MT tuned model will sit well with your other actives and indeed passive pickups
I go for an 85 in the bridge but am planning a set of MT myself or i may just pickup his Ibanez signature model if the price is right (fantastic effortless neck, almost flat and thinner than even the Wizzard II!). The only issue is the 'SEVEN' inlay which is less than subtle plastered on the board, Implying i might be a Slipknot fanboi but it plays so damned well and cosmetics i am not fussed about. Time will tell

Oh just had a look and the MTM2 model does not have the 'SEVEN' down the board i am pretty much sold already. Definately my next guitar now:

http://www.ibanez.com/ElectricGuitars/Series-mtm



Edit: The specs on the MTM2 oppose to the MTM are not exactly the same but still i am going to give one a try for sure. Over excitement just totally overcame me and i presumed/expected it to be the same. My bad again

[hibidy]

My next one will be an ibanez but it will be next year and not sure which model

I would love to do one of the custom jobs but there is no way I'm taking that chance.

[Uncle E]

a. If you held back on the software front them it would be alot less pricey game than you would think plus with some basic DIY skills mods, kits and building your own from scratch is fairly simple (well i am only reffering to dirt boxes here as i have never attempted anything else)

Building pedals is definitely cool if you're trying to achieve something else or better than what's currently available. I've personally found building simple clones of other pedals to be a losing affair, simply because of the time you invest and the lack of any resale value after.

b. start with a few common bits like Boss, especially the SD-1, MXR/Dunlop and EH...etc. Its usually easy to find mods and do them ala Robert Keeley but without the very much over-inflated price tag put on the pedals he modded.

Modding my own TS9DX allowed me to hone in on a sound that I couldn't get from any other Tube Screamer clones. The pedal now has the second lowest snr of any dirt/boost pedal I've owned over the past 5 years (probably about 50 different ones) and a more natural frequency curve while still retaining a classic Tube Screamer sound (unlike most clones that simply boost bass to even out the mid boost). The best part is the mod took me 30 minutes and no more than $8 worth of parts.

[trimph1]

My next one will be an ibanez but it will be next year and not sure which model

I would love to do one of the custom jobs but there is no way I'm taking that chance.

I've decided to try my so-called hand in this modding---the thing I picked up is an el cheapo First Act guitar. I'm wondering what kinds of resources there are for this stuff

[Hink]

My next one will be an ibanez but it will be next year and not sure which model

I would love to do one of the custom jobs but there is no way I'm taking that chance.

I've decided to try my so-called hand in this modding---the thing I picked up is an el cheapo First Act guitar. I'm wondering what kinds of resources there are for this stuff

me

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Eric - Yes i agree on the cloning part mostly and also that it is so true/spot on regarding the majority of TS-9/TS-808 (or Maxon OD-9/OD-808) clones. The lack of a bass boost is after all why i love them so much since high-output beefy humbuckers in my case and also very bass-heavy amp settings are what/how i use my stuff, the mid hump part is pretty much invaluable and the added bass just defeats that especially at live/rehersal room volume becomes mush/mud.

$8 and half an hour is not bad going for your ideal screamer

I found mine in a digitech CM-2 tube overdrive on the 'modified' setting with some bass cut along with treble boost at about the same amount as the cut. So i have retired my Ibanezs/Maxons for studio use as they are rather fragile build wise compared to the hardwire's tank like encasing. If i flick the toggle back to 'classic' it is more TS-808/OD-808 like. Really happy with it for the money/my own needs. But i must say that with more subtle amp settings and passive pickups, (SCs and P-90 types especially) the differences are quite noticeable admittedly. Having an 'i want' wrestle with a whampler extasy overdrive and triple-wreck high-gain distortion at the moment - more dirt boxes for a change!

Brain is also working on what looks like a nice board along the lines of what Carl Martin did with his analogue multi-fx thing (which i was dissapointed with in all honesty). Hope Mr.Whampler gets it right since if he puts in the right circuits it could work great - However i imagine each user's idea on which of his circuits he puts in to make it 'right' will differ and if it does get released (he has flashed some pics on facebook) it won't be wallet friendly

trimph1 - What are you looking for? Pickup upgrade? Pots/Switches? Custom Neck? Locking Tuners?...etc. Its a minefield of what you can upgrade especially if it is a bolt-on neck model. I am sure that http://www.warmoth.com is a good place to start and http://wwww.allparts either.co.uk or .com for example. It depends on what you would like to achieve

[Hink]

and these guys, the second sells artec active pick-ups and pre-amps, tone controls
http://www.guitarpartsdepot.com/
http://www.guitarheads.net/

[Dean Aka Nekro]

My next one will be an ibanez but it will be next year and not sure which model

I would love to do one of the custom jobs but there is no way I'm taking that chance.

I've decided to try my so-called hand in this modding---the thing I picked up is an el cheapo First Act guitar. I'm wondering what kinds of resources there are for this stuff

me

+1

[Hink]

also at guitarheads don't miss the greatset slide ever made

http://guitarheads.net/products/accesso ... slide.html



and the third hand capo

http://guitarheads.net/products/accesso ... dcapo.html

[trimph1]

@ Hink: Sent you a PM---thanks!